The Movie Channel
Star Channel 1973–1975 The Movie Channel initially launched as Star Channel in 1973, originally owned by Gridtronics. 1975–1977 Later in the 1970s, Star Channel was acquired by Warner Communications, and eventually brought into its Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment division, a joint venture between Warner Communications and American Express. The network was initially offered on Warner Cable systems, and later on Warner-Amex's experimental QUBE interactive service. 1977–1979 The Movie Channel 1979–1981 On December 3, 1979, Star Channel was rebranded as The Movie Channel. 1981–1988 The Movie Channel 1982 Background.png|White version of the logo. tmc-1983-featurepres1.jpg|Feature presentation intro/network ID (1981–1985) tmc-1983-nextfeature1.jpg|Graphic used at the beginning of "Up Next" bumpers (1981–1985) 1988–1997 This logo was introduced in May 1988, and features a pair of eyes in a rectangle. On screen, the rectangle could include many different pairs of eyes. TMC_1988-variant 1.png|One of many variants used between 1988 and 1997. TMC 1988-variant 2.png|A colorized "eye and profile" design, featuring an eye roll design. 2016-06-20_08h50_42.png|Variants of the "eye and profile" design, featuring differing facial expressions. 2016-06-20_08h50_30.png|The varying facial expressions used in the "eye and profile" design. 1997–2001 The Movie Channel 1997 Print.svg|Print version themoviechannel 3D.jpg|3D version of the 1997 logo, used in some promos. themoviechannel_3D-alternate.jpg|Alternate 3D version, with compact lettering on the "TMC" green ball. This version was the primary logo used on-air during this period. TMC adopted a very slick on-air look that predominantly used CGI graphics, with the debut of a new logo in 1997, a 3D computer-animated green sphere with a tilted and lowercase "TMC" emblazened on it, usually shown either to the right of the channel's full name or above the name (also rendered in lowercase type). Jeff Bottoms (who has since become The Movie Channel's longest-serving promo announcer, and also does promotions for sister channel Showtime) promoted upcoming programs between films with humorous, and tongue-in-cheek voiceovers. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, The Movie Channel started running a wide variety of network promotions from those akin to a movie trailer to typical promos that feature behind-the-scenes trivia relating to the film. The latter technique is still used by the channel today, often in a more hybrid way. 2001–2006 The Movie Channel 2001 Print.svg|Print version theMovieChannelHD 2003.jpg|The Movie Channel HD logo (2003-2006) An extensively modified logo was introduced in 2001, featuring a one-dimensional circle with a lowercase "tmc" in Knockout type on it, surrounded with two lines on the corners framing the circle; the "movie" in the channel's name was rendered in bold. 2006–present On May 3, 2006, a new logo was introduced, along with the slogan "Movies for Movie Lovers". Designed by Gretel. The_Movie_Channel_2006_alternate.png|Alternate logo used in the channel's ID bug during movies, and in some print ads. The-Movie-Channel-Logo-200.png|Green version of alternate logo. TMC-HD.png|The Movie Channel HD logo (2006–present) External links *The Movie Channel Category:Television networks in the United States Category:Commercial-free television networks Category:Movie channels Category:CBS Corporation Category:New York City Category:New York Category:1973 Category:1979 Category:Former WarnerMedia subsidiaries Category:Viacom Category:ViacomCBS Category:Showtime Category:National Amusements Category:Paramount Pictures Category:Premium movie channels in the United States Category:United States Category:Cable networks in the United States